Press Releases

Al Mezan Condemns ‘Revenge Murder’ and Warns of the Effects of Erosion of Gaza’s Rule of Law

At 8:05pm on Tuesday, 14 August 2018, an unknown armed person opened fire at and killed Nadi Hadayed, 26. The shooting took place near the Bani Suhaila roundabout in Khan Younis. Hadayed was hit with multiple bullets in the chest and the head.

Ambulances and police arrived at the location of the incident and police announced that an investigation into the incident would be opened. According to a statement by the police, the murder was likely an ‘act of revenge’.

Hadayed had been injured by Israeli forces while participating in demonstrations in Gaza, and was on crutches at the time he was killed.

Al Mezan’s documentation shows that from the start of 2018, 17 persons, of them three children, have been killed and 38, including six children and two women, injured in family feuds and other revenge related incidents in the Gaza Strip. This trend, of increased violence, reflects a worrying breakdown in the rule of law, in particular of citizens taking the law into their own hands in disregard of the justice system.

Al Mezan stresses its condemnation of killings committed in family feuds and expresses its condolences to the family of Hadayed, the latest victim of an ongoing series of serious, unlawful acts of violence. Al Mezan warns against the rising number deaths caused by such acts and urges the competent authorities to take measures to protect lives and to promote security and public order in accordance with law and human rights standards.

Al Mezan calls for: Investigations to be launched into all cases of internal violence, including the abuse of firearms; Imposing effective gun control measures; and Restricting the possession and use of firearms exclusively to law enforcement personnel.